I chose to work for a large company in the automotive industry, or rather they chose me. And that was another misconception. The idea that they were doing me a favor rather than a mutual exchange. But I would soon come to realize that I would just be another number. A headcount. A body.

I wanted to be a Physical Therapist when I started at Michigan State. I played sports my whole life, dealt with numerous injuries, and thought a career helping people recover from injuries was the right path for me. I ended up becoming a software developer…

My mom was a little freaked out at first … and now I can’t wake up at 8:30am to be to work by 9am … but moving from Ann Arbor to Detroit was definitely worth it! I’m stripped from my comfort zone, exposed to new surroundings and got creative with the daily commute (which isn’t that bad)!

Ever since I was a kid, I was convinced that I would be a doctor. I remember watching shows like House and even Scrubs and thinking that what they did was the coolest thing. Fast forward 5 years, I’m developing software at a startup in Detroit and can honestly say that I have no regrets with the path that I took.

In early May of 2018, I received an email from Hacker Fellows stating that a space became available for their fellowship program and it would be available to me if I accepted. I was elated. I couldn’t believe that I could have the opportunity to be a part of such a generous and growth-oriented program. That elation lasted for about two days, and then the nerves set in. Then, when I was packing to move to Detroit for 5-weeks to train with the 14 other fellows, the nerves REALLY set in!

In early May of 2018, I received an email from Hacker Fellows stating that a space became available for their fellowship program and it would be available to me if I accepted. I was elated. I couldn’t believe that I could have the opportunity to be a part of such a generous and growth-oriented program. That elation lasted for about two days, and then the nerves set in. Then, when I was packing to move to Detroit for 5-weeks to train with the 14 other fellows, the nerves REALLY set in!

Though I game occasionally, I’m not a huge gamer so I started to look at the other small, but active communities on there and found the Programming group. I’ve always been someone that likes to listen to tech talks while also working/programming (I know, nerd alert) so I decided to give it a chance and oh boy, was it rough.

So much has happened over the course of the last ten months. When I first started coming into the office, we were in the midst of a name change from Notion AI to Trove AI to, finally, Trove. Our central product has gone through three major iterations and countless minor iterations.

Everything I’ve just talked about I could have done in Texas, except for that Michigan quality beer. But even then, it would have been completely different. My first photography pictures wouldn’t have been of the Heidelberg project. I wouldn’t have gotten to get my first bike and ride it around Belle Isle.

Of course, your company is going to say they want you to go out and do things that make you happy, but to the point where you leave work early to go play disc golf before dark and then finish up your work whenever you can fit it in?